Author of numerous critically acclaimed works, Maxime Tandonnet has notably published André Tardieu. The misunderstood (Perrin, 2019,400).
The government appointed on July 6, 2020 is dominated by continuity around a few figures from the right and from the left, emblematic of the dogma of "at the same time". This continuity on the bottom is counterbalanced by two symbolic movements. On the one hand, the exit of Prime Minister Édouard Philippe whose successful media management of the covid-19 crisis overshadowed the Élysée Palace. On the other hand, the entry into government of Eric Dupond-Moretti, the charismatic and highly publicized lawyer. This designation, to everyone's surprise, gives a sensational tone to the composition of the government team. At a time when the judicial institution is strongly criticized regarding the interventions of the financial prosecutor's office, it appears to be a major event, arousing the satisfaction of the defenders of liberties and the concern of the representatives of the magistrates.
However, this is not the first time that a lawyer has been promoted to this rank. The Prime Minister of Justice in the history of the Republic was a lawyer: Danton, from August 10 to October 9, 1792. But other famous figures were both lawyers and ministers of Justice: Jules Dufaure close to Thiers , one of the creators of the Third Republic (1871-1873); Aristide Briand at the beginning of the 20th century, icon of the separation of Church and State and of pacifism; René Cassin, one of the inspirers of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1943, commissioner in Algiers); Edgar Faure (1951-1952); François Mitterrand (1956-1957); Robert Badinter (1981-1984); Michel Crépeau (1986); Georges Kiejman (1991-1992, Minister Delegate). Under the mandate of François Mitterrand, the practice of appointing lawyers as Keeper of the Seals was common, such as Michel Vauzelle (1992-1993).
We get the idea that a Keeper of the Seals is primarily responsible for carrying the word of the judiciary and reflecting their interests.So why does a tradition firmly rooted in the history of the Republic cause such a stir today? Since 1993, the profile of the Minister of Justice's lawyer has disappeared. The members of the government in this post are senior civil servants, professors or professional politicians from militancy. This phenomenon is no doubt explained by the decline in freedom as an essential value of French society for the benefit of equality. It is due to the rise of corporatist passions in the state apparatus and to the idea that a Keeper of the Seals is primarily responsible for carrying the word of the judiciary and reflecting their interests. A lawyer would therefore not be in the best position to express and defend the point of view of judges.
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Everything remains to be done for Mr. Dupond-Moretti. His appointment at Place Vendôme raised hope. One of his most famous predecessors, Robert Badinter, made an upheaval in the history of justice by attaching his name to the abolition of the death penalty. The new Keeper of the Seals, if he succeeds in putting his ideas into practice on the independence of the judiciary, including independence with regard to ideologies, his absolute political impartiality, the principle of the responsibility of magistrates, will in turn mark the story of his footprint. Does this appointment open the prospect of a profound and salutary change or will it be limited to a communication operation in the image of what becomes of today's politics? This is the great challenge of the years to come. In his style, there is an indomitable tribune side that returns to the image of his first predecessor in the Republic, the great Danton. Favorable omen or the opposite?
